Chapter 9: Military

Lu Shan gathered his men, taking over forty Strongmen Gang members, and set off in a hurry under the cover of night.

Such a large-scale Gang operation was rarely seen, perhaps once every four or five years, and it was even rarer for it to be initiated by the Boat Towmen Gang from the lowest rung.

Yet, these forty-odd individuals subtly exuded a military aura.

These men kept their mouths shut, huddled together, and moved stealthily through the narrow alleys, avoiding the main roads, proceeding with caution.

They made almost no sound; the forty-odd men only produced occasional gasps and the sound of accidentally kicking something.

After all, they were Boat Towmen, not true military personnel; their discipline was still far from adequate.

However, the Strongmen Gang's discipline was much better than that of the Paibo Gang and the Water Horse Gang, clearly indicating that effort had been put into it.

The Strongmen Gang detoured through the alleys.

The Li Shui River banks were dotted with small docks; though small in scale, they were numerous, accommodating a large volume of cargo ships and passengers. This place was a mixed bag, with Gangs clustered everywhere, full of Boat Towmen, sailors, laborers, and travelers.

In the layout around the Li River, small paths and alleys were hidden behind buildings, away from the main streets, to ensure that garbage and beggars did not inconvenience merchants, as merchants were the lifeblood of this area.

Therefore, due to financial constraints, most of the houses here were low and square, some with sloped roofs. As stone was expensive and difficult to obtain in large quantities, most buildings near the docks were constructed from wooden planks, with only a few being stone. More exquisite residences simply did not exist here.

The streets and alleys beside the docks were crowded and dirty, with trash scattered everywhere on the ground. These small paths combined like a casually twisted knot; unless one lived here for many years, they would certainly not be able to distinguish the roads within.

Such road conditions fostered a great deal of darkness within, making the public order here less than ideal, thus also making it an excellent hiding place.

By passing through these twisted alleys, one could directly reach the Paibo Gang's stronghold without going through the main road.

It was covert, safe, and would not alarm the authorities.

He had envisioned this plan of surprise attacking the Paibo Gang and the Water Horse Gang more than once, and had also actually had his brothers in the Gang try it out.

The purpose was to successfully execute a surprise attack one day.

Lu Shan had always been an ambitious man; like Li Qi, he was never content to be a Lifter. He wanted to climb higher and had put in a lot of effort for it.

Therefore, under the temptation of the cultivation method, he unhesitatingly agreed, regardless of whether it was a hook.

If it was a hook, he would still eat the bait first.

The Strongmen Gang moved silently... no, there was still a slight bit of noise as they walked through the alleys.

Everyone was silent; they all knew what they were going to do tonight.

Occasionally, a slight sound would come, but it did not affect them at all.

They continued until they had covered two-thirds of the journey, reaching an open space.

This open space was left by the dock laborers for temporarily stacking goods. Large quantities of goods that couldn't be transported immediately were temporarily stored here, but never overnight; they were usually moved within a day, so it was empty at night.

This was a place where people could gather, arranged by Lu Shan as a temporary assembly point for roll call.

According to his plan, upon reaching this point, the Boat Towmen needed to gather, talk, boost their morale, then rest for a bit, and then, with a single burst of energy, under the cover of darkness, break through the Paibo Gang's people in one wave!

"Everyone, today, do you know what we're here to do?" Lu Shan stood in the center of the open space, speaking to the people around him.

The surroundings were pitch black, and he couldn't see very clearly, only discerning dozens of figures, so he spoke.

"Kill Li Qi, because he stole our cultivation method!" A Lifter replied.

"That's right, this time, Li Qi stole the cultivation method that belongs to us, and he must die," Lu Shan said.

The Dao of deploying troops lies in strong morale.

The so-called "with a single burst of energy" emphasizes the strong morale of the soldiers.

Moreover, to have strong morale, one must be in the right.

Being in the right means having a reason for deploying troops and a common goal to achieve strong morale.

Therefore, what could currently unite the Strongmen Gang's Boat Towmen was common interest, as well as the righteous cause of "reclaiming the stolen cultivation method."

With this righteous cause and the driving force of common interest, the Boat Towmen' strength could be twisted into a single rope, transforming them from a disorderly mob into a combat-ready group.

"Do you remember what I usually taught you?" Lu Shan asked again.

"We all remember!" The Boat Towmen immediately nodded.

"Good, then tonight, use those things, and then, try to catch them off guard and take them down in one go! The Paibo Gang just finished their river opening ceremony today, they've been tired all day, and then they had wine and meat tonight, so they must have eaten and drunk their fill and gone to bed early. It's already deep into the night, so they must all be asleep," Lu Shan instructed the Strongmen Gang Boat Towmen.

"So, be quick, be ruthless! But don't use weapons, only wooden sticks. Don't let the authorities catch us with evidence. Try to only kill Li Qi and don't cause too many deaths."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, this is a life-or-death situation. Anyone who holds us back, don't ever say you're from the Strongmen Gang again, or I'll break his legs!"

He admonished the Boat Towmen.

Watching each Lifter in front of him nod, although he couldn't clearly see the faces of the Boat Towmen behind, they should all be able to hear him.

After explaining what to do and giving them a stern warning, he softened his tone:

"After we kill Li Qi, and we practice the cultivation method for a year, by then, there will only be our Boat Towmen Gang left in the city. We'll be able to raise prices, eat meat every day, and each of us will be able to marry a wife! We can even build new houses!"

"If Li Qi survives, it means the Paibo Gang also has the cultivation method, and they'll compete with us, and we won't have good days. You all know how much customers will suppress prices when there's competition, right? What we earn is all hard-earned money; who wants to have their prices suppressed?"

"Tonight, if we succeed, we'll have good days ahead!"

As Lu Shan said these words, he looked at the Boat Towmen, carefully scanning those he could see clearly, observing their expressions.

Only by threatening with power and enticing with profit could he ignite their motivation and make them fight to the death.

After saying all this, he finally clenched his fist: "Now, is everyone here? I'll do a head count; don't let anyone get lost."

Having said that, he went to count heads.

Such things had happened before.

In the pitch-black alleys, the Boat Towmen couldn't see anything at night; their night blindness was severe, and they often got lost while traversing the alleys.

The Strongmen Gang members stood in a group; counting heads was something they did frequently.

Boss Shan seemed to really like counting heads, so they were used to it.

Lu Shan began counting the numbers.

But the more he counted, the more his expression soured.

He counted all the way to the last person, then took a deep breath.

"How are there only twenty-six! Where are the other dozen people!? Did they all get lost!?" He roared in a furious rage, stomping his feet in anger!